The Official NoLimits/NL2 Help Thread

[Phyter]

Does anyone know when we're likely to get another update? With a few new coasters, bug fixes and such?

 

All in good time! We recently announced that we will be adding the B&M Wing train, as well as the B&M vest restraint to the Invert. That update will happen until sometime later this year. Between now and then we are planning a number of smaller updates including some new features. More info on that later.

[Phyter]

NL2 question:

 

I'm going to take a Java Programming class at college in order to be able to do custom scripts. One of the things I want to do is to be able to make new trains that seat the riders in new positions, as well as making different track. Would it be possible to do the following, as I assume this would be how to pull it off:

 

1: Make the cars of an existing coaster invisible.

2A: Make custom scripted cars to follow the existing cars.

2B: Animate the train so that the restraints open and close when entering and exiting the station.

2C: Somehow make sure that the accelerometers can register the correct data from the new seating positions.

3: Make a custom scripted track profile to follow track that I checked off as invisible.

 

I figured that 1 - 2B can be done, but can 2C and 3 be done with the current program?

 

1 - 2B were already answered so I'll skip those. 3 cannot be done at this time. 2C however can be. But you will have to calculate the forces yourself and then display them either in the console or in some sort of custom HUD (all doable).

 

The problem is that scripted cameras are not linked to the simulation and so they won't register any values to the Simulation control panel. But all of the information is there to calculate those values: camera position and orientation, track position and orientation, and train speed. I'm afraid I don't know the math but I'm sure someone here or on NoLimits-Exchange can help with that part of it.

 

Displaying that information is another problem but not insurmountable. As I said, you could simply System.out.println() to the console, but that might not be very useful or user friendly. An alternative would be to create a floating HUD. In the Simulator class getViewPos() will get the position of the player's eyes essentially allowing you to place an object with your graphic of choice permanently in front of the viewer. That is a very easy script..

import com.nolimitscoaster.*;
import nlvm.math3d.*;

public class basichud extends Script
{	
private SceneObject sco;	
private Vector3f pos_Out = new Vector3f(0,0,0);	
	
public bool onInit()
{									
	sco = sim.getSceneObjectForEntityId(getParentEntityId());
	return true;
}

public void onNextFrame(float tick)
{
	sim.getViewPos(pos_Out);
	sco.setTranslation(pos_Out);
}
}

 

As for actually displaying the information, numbers representing values for speed, force, etc. could be textured onto individual polygons allowing the setVisible() method to be used. You would simply use as many copies of a 0-9 set as you needed.

 

I think it's amazing that you've been inspired to learn how to code because of NoLimtis and I hope that this inspires you to achieve your ideas for the sim!

[Tanks4me05]

^Can I make the majority of the objects in Inventor, export them to a .3DS format via 3DS Max, and then animate them in the scripting program, or do I have to "make" the trains entirely while I am scripting? I'm very knowledgeable with Inventor, so if I can use it in any significant amount, that will save me a monstrous amount of time. (I won't take the Java course until the fall, so I'm not really sure as to how everything works.)

[Phyter]

There is in fact no way to create objects using a script alone. Scripting is only for object animation and behavior. So cars and scene objects have to be created in a modeling program. I'm not familiar with Inventor but as long as there is some way for you to convert those files to 3DS or LWO then you should have no problems.

[Tanks4me05]

^Autodesk Inventor is an Engineering CAD program that can be downloaded by students for free (though there's a permanent watermark on any files you make that says it's a student version, so you can't use the files for professional designs.) Autodesk also makes .3DS Max, so I use .3DS Max (again, I can download it for free) primarily to import Inventor files and export them as .3DS files.

 

EDIT: Again, since I don't have knowledge in Java yet, for displaying the custom HUD, would it be possible, using that script you pasted, to display the HUD in oh say the upper right hand corner of the screen so that it's relatively unobtrusive? Also, how would I be able to disable the HUD when I am done testing the G's? (I basically only use the accelerometers during design and turn them off when done with the ride and am just watching it for fun.) Is there some sort of easy way to add in a disable button for the custom HUD, or would it just be easier to go back into the script, highlight that section and turn that section into comments?

[LuckyK]

Hyey, I've been having an issue saying "Xinput not installed" on my message board. tried reinstalling, updated, and looked for troubleshooting tips but still stuck. Any ideas on how to install?

[A.J.]

^Autodesk Inventor is an Engineering CAD program that can be downloaded by students for free (though there's a permanent watermark on any files you make that says it's a student version, so you can't use the files for professional designs.) Autodesk also makes .3DS Max, so I use .3DS Max (again, I can download it for free) primarily to import Inventor files and export them as .3DS files.

To add to this, if you export your models to a format like 3DS (or OBJ or FBX, pleeeeeeease!) you won't have the watermark. You'll be putting NL2 materials on your geometry anyway, so there isn't a need to texture them in 3DS Max unless you have weird UVs.

 

3D geometry is 3D geometry, the only real differences are between NURBS models and polygonal models - and you can go back and forth in Maya, 3DS Max, Rhino and most likely Blender. Not sure about Unity though.

Edited May 9, 2014 by A.J.

[christianscoasters]

Trying to make a B&M inverted drop like Banshee's is proving to be quite difficult. Any tips?

[coasterlover420]

^Lots of trial and error. You can try overlays too, that would help a lot.

[Tanks4me05]

Question for the devs since you guys seem to patrol this thread pretty frequently:

 

Are you planning on adding a bobsled coaster or Flying Turns to the lineup for a future NL2 update?

[Tanks4me05]

Sorry for the double post, but I wanted to activate the new post alert for this thread, and I never figured out if it did for edited posts.

 

I'm making a park, and the static non-coaster objects are made in Autodesk Inventor. I then import it into 3DSMax and I export as a .3ds file. The problem is that in NL2, when I try to place the object, the globe used to rotate the .3DS object is literally over a mile and a half separated from the arrows that move the object in linear displacements. How do I move the rotation globe so that it is coincident with the linear displacement arrows?

[A.J.]

You need to make sure that your model is placed near the origin point in Inventor and / or 3DS Max before you export it. When you place the object into NoLimits 2 it's going to rotate around wherever the origin point is.

Edited June 12, 2014 by A.J.

[Tanks4me05]

^I fail to understand how to change the coordinate system origin in either Inventor or 3DS Max (and I don't know which one is causing the problem.) Might you be able to provide step by step instructions? (Because I never recreated entire amusement parks before, I never encountered this problem.)

 

EDIT: I figured out how to rotate the object, but how do I constrain it to an origin plane?

[A.J.]

Inventor isn't really built for creating environments - it makes things, not places, and dealing with simple object groups is much easier than dealing with parts and assemblies. You'd be better off using AutoCAD or even Rhinoceros if you're inclined to nail the close-to-exact measurements for your recreation. You'd have an easier time with your environment as a whole methinks.

 

I'm not sure how it works in 3DS Max, but in Maya you're able to pretty easily change the location of the rotate / scale pivot of an object. If you know the position of your object relative to the origin you can just input those X, Y and Z values and have your pivot in the correct positions.

 

Changing the rotate / scale pivot effectively changes the location of your object's coordinate system.

Edited June 13, 2014 by A.J.

[Tanks4me05]

^I actually figured out how to solve my issue; I simply constrained my entire Inventor assembly to the assembly file's origin planes, which are default hidden as opposed to Creo which default shown (the CAD program I use at school.)

 

That being said, I have another question: Can someone provide additional detail as to what the "Follow in Full Orientation" button does when inserting elements? I'm making a coaster that requires much more exact geometry than any of my previous designs, so I never really paid attention to that feature, but now I'm basically getting confused and I have to start over and subsequently wasted probably 8 - 12 hours of work, as the shaping of the elements changes slightly, but just enough for this particular project to totally screw over what I'm trying to do. At first I thought it was some sort of smoother tool, but I couldn't tell much of a difference; sometimes the track transitions when importing from Newton without the Full Orientation selected seem to appear more discretized and not as smooth, but not always.

[glouthan]

I have a question not related to a coaster itself, but more of filming it for a video. I want to know if there is a way to film a coaster like many of the videos on youtube. The coaster is my take of the leaked blueprints of Carowind's new coaster, so I would like to put the video up soon. Thanks in advance!

[Gmaster562]

What display settings (Specifically the frame rate) have been found to work best? I seem to get a lot of lag. I don't really know much about graphics and such, but all I know is that i'm using a significantly new HP laptop and I don't own a graphics card.

[lily]

Wrote:" Major support collisions now, ha ha oh well. Does seem to smooth things out a bit (probably why they call it a track smoother duh)"

 

Talking about the detector, i was thinking of the walk through metal detector suppliers ,this is the good device to use,you can get more details at detectorall.com

[coasterlover420]

^I actually figured out how to solve my issue; I simply constrained my entire Inventor assembly to the assembly file's origin planes, which are default hidden as opposed to Creo which default shown (the CAD program I use at school.)

 

That being said, I have another question: Can someone provide additional detail as to what the "Follow in Full Orientation" button does when inserting elements? I'm making a coaster that requires much more exact geometry than any of my previous designs, so I never really paid attention to that feature, but now I'm basically getting confused and I have to start over and subsequently wasted probably 8 - 12 hours of work, as the shaping of the elements changes slightly, but just enough for this particular project to totally screw over what I'm trying to do. At first I thought it was some sort of smoother tool, but I couldn't tell much of a difference; sometimes the track transitions when importing from Newton without the Full Orientation selected seem to appear more discretized and not as smooth, but not always.

 

This just has to do with banking. If the 'follow in full orientation' is not selected, it will insert the element based on the exact geometry it was saved as. If it is checked, it will insert the element oriented by matching the banking at the insertion vertex. For instance, if I have a loop and I select a vertex where I want to insert it which has a bank of 45 degrees, then insert the loop without 'follow......orientation', the loop will correct the banking at the vertex to 0. If I insert it WITH 'follow.....orientation' selected, it will insert an inclined loop at 45 degrees and preserve the banking of the vertex at the insertion point.

[DoinItForTheFame]

Quick question, and I apologize if this has been asked before. I have searched every where to try and find an answer to this.

 

In NL2 how can you make your own lights? I want to create some white florescent tube lights similar to what you would see in an office building (see attached photo) that actually produce light. However, I have no idea where to even begin. Any advice you could provide would be fantastic!!

Similar to these.

[coasterlover420]

I suggest looking through the help in NL2. Look through the nl2sco editor/lights tab. It explains everything lights can do with an nl2sco object.

[greggr1]

I recently purchased no limits 2 about 2 months ago and im currently creating a custom roller coaster, i am completely new to scripting for no limits but would like to have a light which when the coaster rolls over a track trigger on the track the light would come on then when it rolls over another track trigger the light would go out. Once again im completely new to scripting. How can i do this so i know for the future

[coasterlover420]

Look through this discussion:

http://forum.nolimits-exchange.com/comments.php?DiscussionID=3147

[HTCO]

Does anyone know a way to import Newton 2 track files into Nolimits 2? I'm much better with the newton editor and can make better coasters that way. Much appreciated.

[coasterlover420]

Save the N2 track as a nl1 element, then import it directly into NL2 using element>Add Element